and a half kilometres in length . much of the rest of the area consists of a shallow stony soil that may be derived from glacial till . there is an almost complete absence of peat on the island and due to the volcanic rocks the soils are relatively fertile . the lack of peat led to ' turf scalp ##ing ' for fuel and the bare areas of rock in the interior . the highest point on the island is in the north west at vi ##rda field , which rises to 87 metres ( 285 feet ) . vi ##rda is possibly from the old norse for ' heap of stones ' . in addition to the larger isle ##ts mentioned above there are various other
and a half kilometres in length. much of the rest of the area consists of a shallow stony soil that may be derived from glacial till. there is an almost complete absence of peat on the island and due to the volcanic rocks the soils are relatively fertile. the lack of peat led to'turf scalping'for fuel and the bare areas of rock in the interior. the highest point on the island is in the north west at virda field, which rises to 87 metres ( 285 feet ). virda is possibly from the old norse for'heap of stones '. in addition to the larger islets mentioned above there are various other